Mechanical arrangement for electroplating objects.



. w. PFANHAUSER. I MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENT FOB ELEGTBOPLATING OBJECTS.

APPLICATION rmw Hum 18, 1909.

. Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

WILHELM PFANHAUSER, OF LEIPZIG, GERMANY.

MECHANIdAL ARRANGEMENT FOR ELEGTROPLATING OBJECTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 18, 1909. Serial No. 502,962. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILHELM PFAN- HAUSER, company director, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and resident of 13 SchWagrichenstrasse, Leipzig, in the Kingdom of Saxony, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Arrangement for Electroplating Objects, of which the following is a specification.

The coating or electro-plating of stationary objects, which are either electrical conductors in themselves or can be converted into such, with metal deposits by means of a brush, the deposit being applied by moving the brush to and fro on the surface to be plated, as in painting, isknown. If, to accelerate the depositing action, a higher electro-motive force is employed, the deposit becomes rough, as, for instance, is the case when electro-plating sheet metal with zinc or lead, with a current of about three and one half amperes per ten square inches, and which arises owing tothe single metal crystals sprouting from the pores of the flannel.

pad containing the electrolyte in a direction vertical to the surface to be electro-plated. This method was improved by the brush being operated by mechanical power and by its receiving a rotary, as well as a to-and-fro,-

movement. All these methods have, however, the common disadvantage that the electro-plating is always dependent on the feeling or sensitiveness of the operator. If the hand pressure is altered, the resistance and also the strength of the current are altered. The amount of the metal deposit is thus subject to constant alteration and a uniform electro-plating in which all parts receive exactly the same amount of coating is quite impossible,

In addition to the above, there is the further disadvantage in using brushes that a very high electro-motive force of at least 30 volts 'must -be em loyed which is not usual in galvanizing actories and this increases the expense of the electro-plating enormously.

The arrangement forming the basis of the present application does awa intentionally with the operation by ban and isicharacterized by the feature that anodes of roller form or other form suitable for the objects to be plated and covered with'felt, flannel,

porous stones etc. are arranged in pairs over each other and receives. umform rotary motage, in galvanizing sheet metals, in

tion around their axis. The object to be electro-plated whose negative pole is joined up to the source of current is drawn through these anodes by meansof feed rollers and is then, after turning on the current, electroplated in a perfectly uniform degree. Seeing the pressure of'the rollers carrying the Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

anodes under the non-conducting material is exactly the same on all portionsof the object in electrical connection withthe negative pole, the distance between the anodes and cathodes always remains the same, so that the resistance and the strength of the current likewise remain the same and insure the mechanical coating being perfectly even.

An arrangement corresponding to the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in vertical section and in which a are the anode rollers. These latter are arranged in pairs over each other and the sheet metal I) to be electro-plated is fed between them.

The rollers contact in their rotary movement in a tangential direction withthe object to be electro-plated. In front, between and behind the anode rollers are' arranged feed rollers t which serve to move forward the object to be electro-plated.

The rotary speed of the anode rollers a can be varied the same as thatof the feed rollers t. The electrolyte flows out of the upper receptacle '2) through-the outlet-open ,ing w onto the anode rollers a and drops thence into't-he lower recepacle (Z to be then .pumped back throu h the pipes r and into the upper receptac e 'v by means of the In using rotaryanodes it is possible to allow several of them to act successively on the metal to be elect-ro-pl'ated, an increased deposit being then obtained at the same speed or the same deposit with an increased speed. 7

The "present arrangement has the advan- V presence of the methods used hitherto of electroplating metals between parallel anode plates that the same amount of metal is deposited on all parts of the sheet metal to be electroplated, while in the method hitherto used,

as has alread been explained, the parts of the cathodes nearest to the anodes receive a eater de osit owing to the inequalities of ti e electr es or to the defective r lation of the distance. The edgm were a o hitherto covered with a thicker coating of metal than the center parts owing to the scattering of the lines of the current corresponding to the scattering properties. of the electrolytes employed. Inthe present method angle-iron, U-iron, corrugated metal and fat either electrolytically or mechan1cally, and, after electro-plating, said object can also be dried or burnished or polished. The application of the current is best effected by contact rollers which lie between the anode rollers.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the uniform and-rapid electroplatingcan be effected mechanically with a minimum of electro-motive force, since it is possible by the present method to reduce the distance of the electrodes from each other to mm. so that the necessary tension to overcome the resistance in the electrolyte needs only be very small despite the highconductivlty.

The method of electro-platin metals'is, for instance, as follows: An e astic roller is pressed on to the sheet metal from above. The metal is thus not only moved forward by the rotary motion of the lower roller, but, seeing the latter is connected with the negative pole, a steady and intimate contact is also insured. Owingto the objects to be .electro-plated being passed through the anode rollers automatically, a larger pro- .duction is obtained. Bythe arrangement of er and lower anode rollers the electroplating of both sides of the object is effected simultaneously which represents a considerable technical advance over galvanizing by hand.

1 A further advantage is obtained .by the arrangement of rotary feed rollers by the objects to be galvanized being fed fiat through the anode rollers, so that the pressure is perfectly equal on all portions.

Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is': 1. An electroplating apparatus comprising in combination, movable means connected with one pole of a circuit for apply ing the electrolyte to the material, and means connected with the other pole for moving'the material with respect to said mechanism. 2. An electro-plating apparatus compris 7 [ing in combination, movable mechanism conv nected with one pole o'f' a circuit for apply-- rial passing ing the electrolyte to both sides of the matetherebetween, and means connected with. the other pole for moving the material with respect-to said means.

3. A11 electro-plating apparatus comprising in combination, movable mechanism connected with one pole of a circuit for applying the electrolyte to the material, and means for moving the material with respect to said mechanism, said material being connected with the other pole of the circuit.

4. An electro-plating apparatus comprising in combination, movable mechanisms for successively applying the electrolyte to the material and connected with one pole of the circuit, and means for moving the material with respect to said mechanisms and connected with the other pole of the circuit.

5. An electro-plating apparatus comprising in combination,,movable mechanisms for successively applying-the electrolyte to both v sides of the material and connected with one pole of the circuit, and means for moving said material with respect to said mechanisms and connected with the other pole of the circuit.

6. An electro-plating apparatus comprising in combination, a pair of rollers engaging both sides of the material for applying electrolyte thereto and connected with one ole of a circuit, and means for advancing the material between said rollers and-connected with the other pole of a circuit.

7. An electro-plating apparatus com rising in combination, a plurality of pairs oi rotatable anode rollers connected with one pole of a circuit and spaced apart from each other for applying electrolyte to the material, and a plurality of pairs of feed rolls disposed on opposite sides of said. anode rollers for advancing the material therebetween and connected with'the other pole of a circuit.

'8. An electro-platin-g apparatus comprising in combination, a plurality of pairs of anode rollers connected with a pole of a circuit with the rollers of each pair disposed in super-posed relation, a tank for discharging electrolyte upon the uppermost rolls of each pair, a tank 1n which the lowermost rolls of each. air are partially submerged, -means for e ecting circulation of. the electrolyte In testimony whereof I have hereunto set myhand in presence ofv two subscribing witnesses. V

' .WILHELM PFANHAUSER. Witnesses:

MAX PHTOTTEB, HEINRICH-.HEDMANN. 

